AppleCare is taking a page from the Apple One services bundle and introducing a bundle of its own. AppleCare One is a new way to pay for additional warranty status on all your Apple products, and the window to add coverage is more generous than ever.
What is AppleCare One?
AppleCare One is a new warranty subscription service option from Apple. In the United States, AppleCare One costs $19.99/month and covers up to three products. Additional hardware can be added for an additional $5.99/month.
For example, you can protect an iPhone, iPad, and Mac for $19.99/month, then add an Apple Watch as the fourth product for $5.99/month. This provides AppleCare+ coverage to all four products for $25.98/month.
AppleCare One is like AppleCare+ but for multiple devices. AppleCare+ adds accidental damage coverage and extends the standard warranty from one year to the length of the subscription.
Theft and Loss coverage, which was previously only available for iPhone, also extends to the Apple Watch and iPad with AppleCare One.
As always, service fees and deductibles are greatly reduced compared to the cost of repairs and replacements outside of warranty status. Priority support and battery replacements when needed are included at no additional cost.
AppleCare One has the most flexible grace period. Most devices can be added within four years of purchase. Condition checks may be required.
9to5Mac’s Take
Apple has done a lot of work in recent years to make AppleCare+ coverage more accessible and affordable for customers.
From extending the grace period for adding coverage to offering monthly and annual subscription options, Apple has maintained a strong push for its extended and more comprehensive warranty plans.
AppleCare One builds on the work that started when AppleCare coverage was promoted to the top level of the Settings app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Apple started by easily showing warranty status for each of your devices. AppleCare One now makes it possible to pay a single fee for the same level of coverage on different products. No need to think about when you bought the product or if you added the warranty in time.
The challenge for Apple includes overcoming subscription fatigue and revealing the monthly cost of warranty for comprehensive device coverage. That’s where the bundle savings helps both Apple and customers.
That and the much longer grace period of adding a product in good condition within four years of purchase shows Apple is serious about growing its AppleCare service business.
One area where the bundle falls short is Family Sharing. AppleCare One only allows you to bundle products that use the same Apple Account. This means you can’t bundle three iPhones with different Apple Accounts in use, even if they are connected through Apple’s Family Sharing feature.
A benefit of connecting AppleCare One to the Apple Account, however, is that warranty coverage automatically moves between device upgrades and replacements.